Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Loud squeaky tap, help.

7 replies

Wth123 · 17/07/2021 21:39

Dont know much about DIY so just needed some advice before I call someone in.

The tap on the bath has been squeaking really loud and the water drips outs continuously. Everytime we use the toilet or any of the taps in the house, the sound gets really loud and it's like a grinding sound. It's been happening on and off for a few days now but it's getting worse over time. LO is refusing to got to the toilet because hes scared the loud sounds coming from the tap.

Any advice on what it could be, and a how much it would cost would be greatly appreciated, I seem to always get overcharged when calling people in.

OP posts:
PigletJohn · 17/07/2021 22:03

Photo please

Igetknockeddown · 17/07/2021 22:05

Does @PigletJohn know about plumbing? He always knows a lot about house stuff

Igetknockeddown · 17/07/2021 22:05

X post lol

Wth123 · 17/07/2021 22:22

@PigletJohn

Cant really see much on the picture and it doesn't allow me to add a video clip. The high pitched squeaking is continuous

Loud squeaky tap, help.
OP posts:
PigletJohn · 17/07/2021 22:57

OK. They appear to be the traditional type with a rubber washer. They are easily repaired. New washers cost pence. you probably need a standard 3/4" for the bath tap. Most basin taps are 1/2". There are a few rare odd sizes.

Quite likely the washer has worn enough that the internal brass jumper has reached the end of its screw thread and is mispositioned. If you look up "changing a tap washer" you willl find billions of youtube clips.

Tap washers usually wear out if they are excessively tightened with great force. This is usually done by an older person who grew up with worn out taps. My own taps turn with a finger tip and I have never worn one out.

Things I recommend:

clean the parts with a green nylon pan scourer to remove limescale and tarnish

try to get some white silicon plumbers grease to lubricate the moving parts before you reassemble them

buy some plumbers PTFE tape to put on the brass threads of the cartridge before you screw it into the base of the tap. it seals against leaks and prevents the thread seizing in future.

Put in the plug, and lay a large old towel in the bath to catch the tools and parts you drop, and prevent them scratchng the bath and falling down the plug hole.

if you can get the hang of re-washering a tap you will find it so easy and pleasurable that you will do all the taps in the house, and try to talk friends and neighbours into letting you do theirs.

Ceramic taps, especially the ones with a joystick, are much more trouble and expense.

If you want to get a plumber in, ask friends a neighbours for a local recommendation, A wrinkly old plumber with a cloth cap will be suitable. you do not need a gas engineer or an emergency call-out.

Do not use an advertising website masquerading as a recommendations website. Established local tradesmen have no need to advertise here as they are recommended by word of mouth. Do not ring a freephone or non-geographic number, it will be an agency.

PigletJohn · 17/07/2021 23:15

p.s.

when you repair the tap, you will have to turn the water supply off, which will stop the noise. So you may as well find out how to do it now, to avoid frightening your child.

Take off the bath panel, there is a chance it was installed by a person who had he sense to install service valves. They often look like this and are closed by turning the slot (it is not a screw) so it lies across, not in line with, the tap. They are often incorporated in flexible tap connectors.

Otherwise, you can turn off the hot at your boiler, if you have a combi, otherwise perhaps in the airing cupboard or tank.

If (quite likely) it is the high-pressure mains water, you may have to turn off the stopcock under the sink.

if you get a plumber in, consider asking her to add stopcocks to make this easier in future. There are much better quality valves available than the type I linked above.

Wth123 · 18/07/2021 09:38

@PigletJohn

Thank you so much! Very informative and clear, really appreciate it. 🤗

Will get onto it as soon as, the noise is driving me nuts.👍

OP posts:
New posts on this thread. Refresh page